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Spirit of Nature acquired by Spark
Following its acquisition of Ethical Superstore in March this year, Spark Etail has added another eco-friendly business to its portfolio. On Friday, it announced the takeover of online retailer Spirit of Nature, a seller of nappies, clothing and household goods with a database of 90,000 customers. Spirit of Nature will now operate from Spark Etail’s base in Gateshead. 

Wallace Sacks sold, founders refocus on leather 
Wallace Sacks, which sells bed linen, soft furnishings and accessories, has found a new home with Diverse Investments Group. TDI’s portfolio also includes BodyJewelleryShop.com and FourEyez.com, a marketer of fashion and novelty contact lenses. Read more here…

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Special ECMOD conference deal – book now and save £210
Introducing the “no frills” ECMOD conference session access pass. For just £85+vat per person, per day, the no frills package means you can still choose which conference sessions you’d like to attend, but your pass does not include lunch, refreshments, a delegate wallet or the post-event presentation files. Hurry, there are only a few tickets left and the deal is strictly limited to a maximum of four places per company. View the whole programme at www.ecmod360.co.uk/Conference/, to choose which day you’d prefer to attend, and call us now on 01271-866112 with your credit card details.

White Stuff relaunches website
Apparel retailer White Stuff unveiled its new website featuring 360-degree photography, an online community and faster on-site search function.

Anne Walker shortlisted for EveryWoman award
Anne Walker, the chief executive of b-to-b cataloguer International Dance Supplies, has been shortlisted for a NatWest EveryWoman Award. She is nominated for a Hera Award for the most inspiring businesswoman aged 50 and older.

Royal Mail increases capacity for Christmas
Royal Mail is investing an additional £15 million in this year’s Christmas operation, including opening a dedicated nationwide packet network of nine packet hubs. Some 38,000 trucks and vans will be used to collect and distribute the Christmas mailbag--almost 5,000 more vehicles than the normal year-round fleet of 33,000 vehicles. Further, approximately 18,000 temporary workers are being recruited to help sort the increase in cards, letters and packets.

Majestic toasts sales and profits rise
Majestic Wines grew sales and profits in the 26 weeks ended 26th September. Pretax profit was up 20 percent to £8.8 million, while sales increased 8.7 percent to £127.8 million. Online sales were also up 8.7 percent on last year, representing 9 percent of total UK retail sales.

Retailers sign up to instant mobile checkout service
Retailers including Carphone Warehouse, Thorntons and TheHut.com have signed up to Simply Tap, a new instant mobile checkout service. Simply Tap allows customers to use the service to order products they see by tapping a code into their mobile phone. In order to make a purchase at any number of participating retailers, customers go through a one-off registration process to capture payment information and delivery address.

Microsoft to cease supporting Commerce Server
Microsoft is shifting future product development of its ecommerce platform Commerce Server to Ascentium. This will see Microsoft cease to produce future versions of Commerce Server, but it will continue to be part of Microsoft’s official price list until July 2012. It is understood that the digital agency, an existing Microsoft partner, will take over intellectual property rights, future product development, marketing, and support of Commerce Server from Microsoft.
 
Profits down at Halfords
Operating profit at auto accessories retailer Halfords plunged 17.7 percent to £56.9 million in the 26 weeks to 30th September. Total revenue dipped from £456.3 million in the equivalent period last year to £454 million. In a statement, the company said building its multichannel presence is “an investment priority” and as such the business is increasing its amount of online advertising.
 

 






Why it pays to have a plan B at Christmas
With customers much more willing to spend online at Christmas than any other time of the year, getting your festive digital strategy right is vital to your bottom line. However, even the best laid plans can be derailed by unforeseen events, so the ability to react well to these hurdles should help to ensure a Merry Christmas all round. Read more here... 

See us at ECMOD
You can meet the editorial team of Direct Commerce magazine at ECMOD. Editorial director Miri Thomas will be firing questions at Celtic Sheepskin founder Nick Whitworth at the Gallery Hall in a special live interview, taking place on 30th November. Editorial assistant James Dart will be on the exhibition floor gathering your latest news for a post-ECMOD Show report, do pop by stand 10 to say hello. We look forward to seeing you there! To register to visit the show, click here...
 
To subscribe to Direct Commerce, contact Jill Sweet on 01271 866112 or at subs@catalog-biz.com. To advertise, contact the Direct Commerce sales team on 01271 866112 or at sales@catalog-biz.com.

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